Cardboard boxes represent a widely used means for storing, transporting and distributing all kinds of products. In fact, the manufacturing and distributing companies use cardboard boxes to package their products in packaging units for their subsequent storage, transport and distribution.
Currently, the packaging or packing process is integrated in the manufacturing process of the product, so manufacturing industries have their own means for producing boxes, according to their needs regarding formats and quantities. In order to cover all of the packaging needs, the industries have a broad variety of cardboard box formats, stored in the form of die-cut cardboard sheets in order to optimise their storage space. Depending on the characteristics, size and number of products to be packaged, the suitable box format is selected, and the corresponding die-cut sheets are placed in the forming machine for the shaping thereof in the production and/or packaging line.
These box forming machines generally have a loader which dispenses the die-cut sheets unit-by-unit into the shaping area, where a series of automatisms fold the peripheral flaps of the sheet to produce the lateral walls of the box and gluing thereof.
Several box forming machine machines appear in the state of the art, such as those we will set forth below:
Patent CA2110766A1 discloses an open lid cardboard box shaping machine from flat pieces of cardboard and by means of actuating gluing means for the flaps.
Patent ES198606124A1 discloses a machine for shaping cardboard boxes or trays, and folding down and inlaying the panels which form double walls with the bottom inside the box, once the box is shaped, concluding therewith the automatic formation of the tray. It also reflects the possibility of providing the ability to shape different open boxes or trays from pre-formed cardboard plates.
Patent US20080127613 discloses a box shaping machine with upper aperture through the raising of the lateral flaps of a flat extended piece, wherein said flaps are joined articulated to a base; all of this defined in a single flat piece. The machine disclosed has sheet loading means, box shaping means from the sheets coming from the loading means and box distribution means once they have been shaped.
Market requirements mean that it is becoming more necessary to carry out short and varied productions, so packaging of boxes implies constant format changes of the boxes to be used. Box format changes mean the requirement of modification of parameters, folding and shaping tools of the machine, with the consequent time loss entailed therewith. In effect, previously disclosed machines require a preparation and adjustment time to adapt them to the new box format, which translates into long down times, which reduce their profitability, particularly in the packaging of small orders or short productions.